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Three people rescued alive days after Nepal earthquake

Two women and one man were reported to have been pulled alive from an earthquake-devastated village in north-eastern Nepal. Recovery teams are struggling to reach remote areas eight days after the 7.8 magnitude shake.

A police officer in Nepal's north-eastern district of Sindhupalchowk (a village in that district is pictured above) told German news agency dpa on Sunday the three survivors had been evacuated to a district hospital.

"Kanchan Khatri, Gyan Kumari Khatri and Dhan Kumari Khatri were rescued by security forces today at Kerabari village in the Syauli area," Ram Bahadur Nepali said, adding that two of them were buried under a mud house which had collapsed, while the third was pulled from the earth after being swept by a landslide.

Other news agencies quoting local officials reported the rescue of the three people, but said it was not immediately clear which day they were found.

Reports also emerged Sunday that a man believed by police in Nepal to be more than 100 years old had been rescued from the ruins of his home the day before.

Rescuers on Saturday signaled dwindling hopes of finding survivors, a week since the country was hit by the 7.8 magnitude earthquake on April 25. So far more than 7,000 people have been killed and officials have warned the death toll was likely to rise as recovery teams reached remote villages.

"There are still villages where we know that all houses have been destroyed, but have not yet been able to reach," Finance Minister Ram Sharan Mahat said in a statement cited by news agency AFP on Sunday.

"The aftershocks have not receded and we expect the final casualty numbers to climb much higher," the minister added, as he appealed for foreign donations to help rebuild the devastated Himilayan country.